


Uncharted Waters

by fishliners



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Blood, Hijacking, Piracy, Swords
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-01
Updated: 2021-01-01
Packaged: 2021-03-10 22:35:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,260
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28474782
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fishliners/pseuds/fishliners
Summary: An in-over-his-head seadweller attempts to hijack the ship of Lohius Icanus. Lohius sees it as the perfect teaching opportunity.





	Uncharted Waters

**Author's Note:**

  * For [LPSunnyBunny](https://archiveofourown.org/users/LPSunnyBunny/gifts).



The hull of _Event Horizon_ cuts through the waves like butter, gliding across the tumultuous seas of Alternia. Lohius Icanus, captain of the vessel, navigates through a harsh storm, unexpected and unplanned for. He keeps his focus directly ahead, staring through the glass windows of the bridge at the charted course ahead. It isn’t until the alarm is sounding that his attention is drawn elsewhere.

_Nearby vessel detected. Nearby vessel detected._

“Hm,” Lohius mutters to himself, glancing down at the radar. A red dot blips with each ping of the Doppler system, nearing the ship.

_Incoming projectile detected. Brace for impact_ , the warning system instructs.

Lohius sits himself down at the command deck, gripping the sides of his chair for support. If this is an attack from a hijacked military vessel, it could pose a serious—

_Hit sustained._

_Not military-grade, evidently_ , Lohius thinks to himself, watching the radar closely. The blipping dot continues to close in, nearly atop the white dot representing _Event Horizon_. Suddenly, the radio system crackles to life.

“Prepare for boardin.”

Lohius jumps to attention, directly running for the boiler room. He shifts the ship over to emergency power, cutting all lights. The darkness allows him to slip from room to room on the ship, his slender figure becoming one with the shadows. He draws his sword, prepared to cut down the attempted pirate attacking his vessel. This was all too familiar for Lohius, likely some arrogant cerulean or indigo who thinks they can stand on a level playing field with a seadweller on his home turf. Every single one has been wrong. This one will be too.

Lohius slinks back to the bridge, sticking to the shadows. He can hear footsteps ahead, followed by the grind of the bridge door against the wooden panels on the floor. Stepping out of the shadows, the intruder is in clear sight now. Lohius doesn’t hesitate, springing forward to slash at the intruder’s right leg, low enough to avoid the arteries but high enough to wound. The intruder crumples to the ground, but manages to spin around on his ass, decaptchaloguing a rifle. It’s a futile effort, as Lohius quickly slashes at his hands, knocking the gun to the floor. Lohius places a foot on the intruder’s chest, pinning them to the floor, and raises his rapier to his throat. Without the haze of life-or-death combat in front of him, Lohius is able to take in the details of the troll beneath him. A violet streak in their hair, a set of fins on each side of their face, a violet symbol on his shirt... It’s a seadweller.

“Identify yourself,” Lohius orders.

“Eridan Ampora,” he replies, glaring up at Lohius from behind a pair of thick frames. He holds one hand against his leg, applying pressure against the long, thin cut left by Lohius’ rapier.

“Well, Ampora, what purpose brings you to my vessel?”

“I’ve begun patrollin these waters for the heiress, who just so happens to be my moirail. So I’d back off if I were you.” Eridan’s voice is wavy, cascading over his words in a melodic pace. “I assumed you were a rebel ship up to no good. Who the hell are you anyway?”

“Lohius Icanus,” he bluntly replies. “The heiress ordered you to patrol these waters?” His voice indicates a sense of distrust.

“Well, not exactly, no. But... I’m just tryin to prove myself to her to show how much I do for her and for our society—” “Well, there is no need for that, Ampora. These waters are already under my jurisdiction, and they have been for quite some time while I hunt down rebels against the Empire. Now, why should I believe your excuse rather than treat this attempted hijacking as is?” Lohius prods the tip of his rapier against Eridan’s exposed neck.

Eridan’s glare quickly shifts into a look of concern, the gravity of the situation dawning on him. “Well, uh, I suppose there’s... The gun, over there!” Eridan calls out, nodding his head in the direction of his discarded rifle. “‘s Ahab’s Crosshairs. The genuine thing.”

Lohius keeps the rapier in place, but he shifts his glance to the rifle on the floor. The distinct blue hue, the seahorse-like design, the arrow tip at the end of the barrel. Lohius pulls away from Eridan to pick it up in his free hand, feeling an unexplainable draw to it, some sort of intangible quality behind it. It was, indeed, the genuine thing.

“And what is this supposed to signify, Ampora?”

“I’m loyal to the Empress. To our society. To our history. I’m no fuckin traitor to our caste or some rebel scumsucker. I’m like you,” Eridan replies.

“Like me?” Lohius asks, a slight smirk pulling at his lips. “You do not know the first thing about me.”

“Well, you clearly know your seadweller history. You serve our Empire. You do what you have to in order to serve our cause. I do that too.”

“By attacking random ships that have superior firepower to yours, promptly before being bested in less than twenty seconds?” Lohius asks.

“By orphanin, you self-righteous prick.”

The answer genuinely catches Lohius by surprise, eyeing Eridan over. “You orphan? To feed the heiress’ beast?”

“Yeah, to keep our entire fuckin society alive, ‘cause no one else seems to care about doin that. You and who knows what other fuckin violets are out playin pirate or captain or marine fuckin biologist while I gotta prance about and kill these massive beasts day in and day out,” Eridan rambles. Lohius can sense the honest annoyance in his voice, and he takes a step forward.

“Here,” he says, tossing Ahab’s Crosshairs into Eridan’s lap. “Do not get any funny ideas. I am returning this rifle to indicate my temporary trust in you.”

Eridan peers up at him, squinting from behind his glasses. “What sorta fuckin trick is this?”

“No trick, I assure you. I think you have an interesting amount of potential behind you, Eridan,” Lohius explains, sheathing his rapier. “Now, up on your feet at once.”

Eridan captchalogues Ahab’s Crosshairs, struggling to his feet. He leans against the chair of the command deck, continuing to apply one hand against his bleeding leg.

“I shall get you all patched up before we go any further,” Lohius continues. “But I believe you can be an excellent force for our Empire. You simply need more adequate training.”

Eridan grimaces, squinting his eyes once more. “Why the fuck should I take advice from you?”

“Ignoring the fact that my ship took a direct, unexpected hit from whatever your measly schooner is equipped with and ignoring how I easily swept your feet out from under you in one swift move,” he says, “I can help you refine the skills you already have. I sense a potential in you, and I would like to unleash that power.”

It’s the truth. Lohius can sense it within Eridan. Standing before him is a chunk of coal. It’s rough, coarse, dirty, unrefined, and there isn’t much inherent value to it. But with time, pressure, and the right hands guiding the process, it can be changed into the hardest, sharpest, and toughest of diamonds, able to withstand anything. Lohius Icanus is the right set of hands to shape Eridan Ampora, even if the younger violetblood doesn’t know it. Regardless, he’s not in a position to turn it down. Staggering forward, he loops an arm up around Lohius’ neck, as Lohius begins to guide him to the makeshift medical ward on _Event Horizon_.


End file.
